oui’ mi" wurmw want to control our immigration system. he wants unlimited and uncontrolled immigration no matter what pressure that puts on public services such as the nhs. we want oui’ services such as the nhs. we want our country to stand tall in the world. and to sit by our allies and oui’ world. and to sit by our allies and our advice. will he is so consumed with a juvenile dislike of america that he actually sides with the mullahs of tehran rather than washington. and when russia ordered the poisoning of innocent civilians in salisbury, he sided with vladimir putin. and there's a key difference that we all face at this time at the selection, and that is above all come with us and we will get brexit done. where is this guy wants nothing more - whereas this man where is this guy wants nothing more — whereas this man wants nothing more than did into labels up he

wa nts a more than did into labels up he wants a referendum on scotland because he's told of the scott masses that he will break up the union if they keep them in power, and he wants another referendum on the eu. unbelievable, he said tonight he wants another extension so tonight he wants another extension so that he can have another negotiation. it's not at all clear what he wants to achieve, does anybody know? we don't know. we don't know what question he'd like to put to the electorate in this referendum. we don't even know what his own position is, is he for it leave mack or remainer? in or out? i don't think he knows himself! the only bit of flotsam of intelligence that has emerged from the bermuda triangle of labour‘s brexit policy is that they are preparing to do a new deal, then campaigned against it six months later. with all the

futility of those suicidal nights in monty python. but there is one thing we do know about his policy, which is that another referendum on the eu, and other brexit referendum means more delay and uncertainty, more acrimony and division in our country where this country is aching to move on! so let's make... so let's make... so let's make next year the year of prosperity and growth, prosperity and growth, not the year of two chaotic referendums. ifi the year of two chaotic referendums. if i come back with a working majority in parliament, that i will get parliament working for you. and on day one of the new parliament in december, we will start getting our new deal through so we get brexit donein new deal through so we get brexit done in january and new deal through so we get brexit done injanuary and put the uncertainty behind us. let us make

20/20 about the people of this country, and not about its politicians. let's get out of the rut of the last three years and get on with our work as conservatives in making this country the greatest place to live, to start a family, to send your kids to school, to start a business, the place that leads the world in clean, green technology and tackling climate change and greenhouse gases. let's get brexit done, my friends, and get on with oui’ done, my friends, and get on with our project of sensible, moderate tax—cutting one nation conservatism, spreading hope and opportunity across the whole of the uk, and let's unleash the potential of this country. thank you all very much for coming tonight, and i'll see you. thank you all, thank you. cheering. so there you have it, the leader of the conservative party launching his pa rty‘s the conservative party launching his party's campaign for the 12 december

campaign, with the repetition of the slogan, "get brexit done". he obviously had a go at the opposition, talking about their economic policies, saying they want to expropriate people, accusing jeremy corbyn of dither and delay, and saying again and again to his audience in the room, all obviously of the converted and to the audience on television, "come with us. a year of prosperity in 2020 rather than a year of two referendums which is what he says will happen under labour, if the opposite happens. some breaking news we are getting in from the labour party, and that is that tom watson, the deputy leader of the party, is deciding that he is stepping down. he has tweeted to that effect, let's get that up on the screen, there you go.

and there is a labour party statement, this was obviously warned in advance becausejeremy corbyn has thanked tom watson for his contribution over three decades, and paid tribute to the work he has done to ta ke paid tribute to the work he has done to take on whatjeremy corbyn describes as "the vested interest of the murdoch empire, and the gambling industry". that statement from the labour party says, "tom will continue to play an active part in the general election campaign as the country faces a stark choice. transformational change for many with labour, or more divisive austerity politics serving the few with the tories". that statement after the election, he continues, "tom will be focusing on campaigns

to ove rco m e "tom will be focusing on campaigns to overcome the tory fuelled public health crisis". an echo of the tweet tom watson himself put out. he will be setting up a new organisation championing a remission for all type two diabetics, and has a book on downsizing coming out injanuary about his own health journey. so let's ta ke about his own health journey. so let's take a look at some of today's other election news while we are in the mood. labour party's terry corbyn has been on the campaign trail, telling supporters a government led by him it would be able to renegotiate a brexit deal within three months. he also said a labour government would bring real change after years of austerity. we've seen what austerity has done to this country. we've seen the levels of injustice and inequality, and poverty. and we've seen the stress amongst those that thought they were relatively comfortably off, and then discovered they weren't, because they had to pay for the children's education in university, and they had

to pay for the social care for elderly relatives. the levels of stress and mental health illness in our society are a product of the stress this country has been put through since austerity came in in 2010. snp leader and first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, has said demand for a second scottish independence referendum will become irresistible, if her party wins the majority of scotland's 59 seats. she said it was her intention to have a referendum next year, and says the idea of westminster politicians rejecting a second vote is starting to crumble. the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, took to the campaign trail on an electric battle bus with the slogan "stop brexit, build a brighter future". she visited a mental health charity in north london saying her party would pledge £11 billion to mental health services, funded by a one pence rise in income tax.

the green party in england and wales has said 12 december should be "the climate election" — arguing the future "wouldn't get another chance". launching its campaign, the party called for additional borrowing in order to fund £100 billion of spending every year for the next decade to deal with the climate crisis. we know these are dark times, it's easy to fear the future. the threat of brexit hangs over our heads, the climate emergency rages from the amazon to the arctic, and our fragile democracy is under attack. but despite all this, greens don't fear the future — we are the future. that is the green party's statement. let's go back to that breaking news, tom watson, the deputy leader of the labour party, has announced via twitter that he is stepping down

from his seat. there is his statement... i'm also looking at the letters that he exchanged withjeremy corbyn, the leader of the labour party, in which he doesn't really go into great detail about his reasons, but he says he wants to start a different kind of life — a decision which is personal, not political. and he talks about thinking jeremy corbyn for the decency and courtesy shown over the last four years, even in difficult times. he says, "are many shared... buti difficult times. he says, "are many shared... but i will continue to devote myself to things we often talk about. gambling reform,

obesity, public health, and horticulture and cycling." who knew? our political correspondent jonathan blake is there. we will come to borisjohnson's beachin we will come to borisjohnson's beach in a moment, but first, i want to talk about tom watson, because thatis to talk about tom watson, because that is obviously surprised news?m isa that is obviously surprised news?m is a bombshell this evening for the labour party's is a bombshell this evening for the labour pa rty‘s general election campaign. tom watson standing down and stepping away from the deputy leadership role. it has come out of the blue, but i guess it's better for the labour party to happen at this point in the campaign then later on. but it will certainly be a distraction forjeremy corbyn as the general election campaign begins. no secret of course that there has been a huge amount of tension between him and tom watson. that has caused problems forjeremy corbyn's leadership. what led to this decision? we'll find out in the coming hours and days, i'm sure, and tom watson perhaps feels that he can

play a fuller and more effective pa rt play a fuller and more effective part in campaigning for the labour party by stepping down from that rule. there was an attempt to abolish the post by supporters of jeremy corbyn and sideline tom watson, so perhaps hejust had enough of the infighting and felt now was the time to step aside. but of course the focus here is the focus on the conservatives in their campaign launch. we heard the prime ministers beak in the last few moments. let's talk about that, any surprises and what he had to say? not really, it is a very familiar message for boris johnson not really, it is a very familiar message for borisjohnson that not really, it is a very familiar message for boris johnson that we've become used to. you can see on the banners behind me, the conservatives‘s slogan going into this general election campaign. the prime minister made those familiar promises he's made that he will renegotiate a brexit deal with the eu and get approved by parliament if only he can win a majority. we can talk more about what the prime minister had to say tonight with dominic raab, who joins minister had to say tonight with dominic raab, whojoins me now. mr

rob, nothing new from the premise or tonight. are you confident that he is firing up the troops for the fight ahead? he gave a fantastic speech, brimming with optimism for the future. he set out a clear plan to get brexit deal, we have a deal, we need to impede to get of the parliament for something we can move on to the other things to fulfil our potential as citizens of one country. whether it be expanding infrastructure and broadband, lifting wages, or dealing with issues that people care about, whether it be more police on the streets or leveling up school funding. these are the issues that will get britain moving forward. it contrasts to the dither, delay and division events you've talked about in the labour party which will only ta ke in the labour party which will only take us backwards. it was the unemployment go through the roof, taxes raised to the highest level in peacetime history. that is the choice of a selection. with your slogan, are you not people a bit there? even if the deal is past the parliament, if you win a majority, such as the start of it. we have

yea rs of such as the start of it. we have years of negotiations to come. that's right. we will be out of the eu, a smooth transition, we will ta ke eu, a smooth transition, we will take back control of our borders, laws, and monies, avoid a new deal scenario that many remainers are worried about. we have global opportunities with brexit, and we can also crucially get on to talk about all those other things that most voters want us to talk about. the economy, cost of living, getting that 20,000 new police officers recruited on the street. that is the positive so we can move forward. i thought it was an optimistic agenda from borisjohnson, as opposed to the pessimistic one byjerry corbyn sigh pillow i was talking to candidates before the ballot this evening, and acknowledged turnouts could be a problem this selection. it is in the winter, it will be cold and wet, and i can go either way for you. do you acknowledge you will

have to work harder than normal in an election campaign to get people out to vote in the first place? that is why it is so important that we have a leader in borisjohnson that can excite people with enthusiasm and get people feeling that even in the darker nights of the winter, that this is a really important election where so much is at stake. frankly, jeremy corbyn i don't think will excite people, because he is a much more pessimistic character with a much more defeatist approach to out a much more defeatist approach to our country, rather than the dither and delay around brexit. they can't get brexit done, their offer is two more referendums. he is even talk today about extending the time period for brexit. that's not the way to get the uk moving forward. borisjohnson is the right person to lead us through to a brighter future and unleash our potential, which is why that is the sole good for our campaign. optimism and enthusiasm are one thing, but delivering on promises is another. we've heard so many promises that will cost huge amounts of money from borisjohnson since he took over. where will they all come from? and aren't you in

danger of making promises you can't keep to the electric? no, the key thing voters will see is that boris johnson delivered on a promise no one thought he could, which is to get a brexit deal and the mats of a few months. everyone said it was impossible in relation to our economic agenda, it will be fully costed. but the reason we can give the economy a boost and get public service as a boost is because we've had nine years. we've taken some tough decisions, but because we been carol's de bie her careful stewards of the economy... the revenue to pay for our public services can only get under that conservative umbrella. thank you for speaking to us this evening. they campaign will take the continue now for the next five weeks across the country, and boris johnson has set the tone for the conservative campaign this evening with a ravening debacle rousing speech to activists in the west midlands, and he will take that across to the uk in the coming week. jonathan, thank you so much. just a

reminder of something we were talking about earlier, the decision by tom watson, officially one of the best—known people in the labour party and the deputy leader to stand down, not run as a candidate again in west bromwich. 35 years in full—time politics ends now. he has put out a tweet as you can see there. and also, he has written to jeremy corbyn, it is quite interesting to try and work out exactly what his reasons are. he said... "now is the right time for me to step down from the house of commons and start over new life. the decision is personal, not political." those two have had many disagreements as they acknowledge in their exchange of letters. so there will be some speculation about to what extent of bruising rows at the top of the party over brexit and

anti—semitism, to what extent those have played a part in this decision by tom watson. also there will be questions about where this leaves the strategic direction and policy direction of the party. jessica parker is at westminster. your immediate reflections on hearing this news? so obviously tom watson announcing this evening that he is standing down, i think people are pouring over that letter to see whether there is some sting in the tail, whether he would somehow have agoat tail, whether he would somehow have a go at the labour leadership, as you were saying there. there has been no intentions between the deputy leader in the leader's office, but as you are saying, it is for personal reasons, that he will be very much fighting the tories as he sees it, and he's not leaving politics altogether. so it seems to bea politics altogether. so it seems to be a relatively amicable decision, but worth reflecting that there have been some tensions between tom watson and jeremy corbyn. tom watson was seen watson and jeremy corbyn. tom watson was seen to stray somewhat on brexit

policy coming out for remained quite early on, talking about a referendum before an election. and you will remember that i had of the labour party conference this year, there was an effort by members of momentum, thatjeremy corbyn back in campaign group, to actually oust tom watson from his role as deputy leader. one of the frustrations has been from those who weren't particularly big fans of tom watson, they were able to remove him because he was elected, it was an elected position. but it seems that there is not, at least on the face of it, down to any personal reasons against jeremy corbyn. he's doing this for personal reasons of his own. now where does this leave the party dynamic? because of course, it has been very fractured over the question of brexit and how to handle brexit, leaving a aside the anti—semitism row. but the brexit row has been so intense, and tom

watson was a key player. we've seen jeremy corbyn trying to reassert some discipline over the last few days, so without tom watson there, what changes in that dynamic at the top? it's very interesting because you are right, because there have been major tensions between the labour party. we think they have calmed down in recent weeks and months to some extent, although we know a lot of labour mps were not happy with the idea of a general election. they wanted to go for the referendum option, but tom watson was very much seen as referendum option, but tom watson was very much seen as a referendum option, but tom watson was very much seen as a prominent leading figure, particularly the parliamentary labour party. those who saw themselves as the more moderate wing of the party, he wa nted moderate wing of the party, he wanted to fight from that end. having said that, we don't know what kind of labour party we will have after this general election. we don't know which mps will be returning following the pole on till december. but those who saw themselves as being for a more moderate wing of the party, this

will be a loss to them because tom watson was a leading light. jessica, thank you so much for your expertise there. now back to the other camp, because jonathan, i think there. now back to the other camp, becausejonathan, i think you have there in the west midlands pretty patel, the home secretary? the home secretary is with me now, the conservative party's secretary is with me now, the conservative pa rty‘s campaign launch. you spoke to the crowd here before the premise or tonight, what do you think the party has to do to ensure you can win a majority in this coming election?” ensure you can win a majority in this coming election? i think it is clear that this is an election about getting brexit done and focusing on the priorities that voters in this general election care about, such as investing in schools, our nhs, but also in law and order, 20,000 more police officers. the reality shows that that is where the public are focused, what the public appetite is at, and they want to see a parliament that has a majority that functions that will deliver for the british public. they may also punish

you for not having a brexit deal that has been put through parliament yet, having to ask for an extension which the prime minister said he wouldn't do time and time again, and may be look to another party for what the labour party described as real change? i think it is pretty clear the public know exactly what is happening when it comes to brexit. they have seen the way that parliament has behaved over brexit, the block in, the delay, the dithering where parliamentarians and parties such as the labour party have deliberately blocked brexit and stop it from happening. and when we look at this general election campaign, labour themselves don't have a clear policy on brexit. we are the only party standing in this election that will get exit done and then importantly, focus on the priorities that voters care about. in this part of the uk, labour party considers these all around, do you acknowledge he will have to make significant inroads in leave supporting labour held areas with you want a hope of winning this

election? look, i campaigned in the referendum, i campaigned for 30 years as a grassroots activist. and i know quite frankly as we've seen in our politics right now, parliament has not been functioning. the public are frustrated and they wa nt the public are frustrated and they want their politicians to do what they said they would do, which is to get brexit done and, as we saw in the last parliament, there were mps that were elected in 2017 that said they would get exit done and get on with a job, deliver on the referendum who failed to do that. the british public, the electorate in those labour seats, have been left behind. they've not been listened to by their unrepresentative and the party that they voted for. this is their opportunity to get brexit done and to deliver on the people present priority. when we see a per ma nifesto, priority. when we see a per manifesto, is there a danger that people will look at this and think it is an expensive wish list, which borisjohnson will not be able to deliver without putting on the economy at risk? he's made so many expensive promises since becoming prime minister, can people trust you

on that? people can trust us on delivering on economic growth and stability. a complete contrast to the policies and politics of the labour party, who want to nationalise industries and literally ta ke nationalise industries and literally take control and micromanage our economy. what we have seen, and when you look at our investment and re cord you look at our investment and record in government over the last nine years, turning our economy around after labour left that famous note saying there is no money. that was so many years ago. but that was what the job was, to turn the economy around, dealing with the bankruptcy, the deficit that we inherited. now we are investing in 20,000 more police officers. that is essentially government—funded money going straight to the front line of policing. more money for the front line education, for the nhs. we are doing that in government and will continue to do that after this election when we have a majority in the next part about. pretty patel, thank you forjoining us this evening on bbc news. general

election campaign here in the west midlands tonight, you heard the mayor, the familiar message we will get use to over the next few weeks. when the detail comes through in the parties put out their manifestos, thatis parties put out their manifestos, that is when the policies will be tested and it may be trickier for the tories and everyone else to control this campaign as they would like to. but for now, the message is simple and familiar from boris johnson and the conservatives. get brexit done at least in terms of getting a deal through parliament, then go on to invest in public services. the voters will decide in five weeks' time. jonathan, thank you so much from the west midlands. earlier in the day, we had the resignation over the boss secretary about his knowledge of a key aide which a judge said had deliberately sabotage the trial of a rape victim. in his resignation letter, and he

said he was confident he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. alan karen's leaving cabinet for the last time yesterday. 2a hours later, he left the government —— cairns for some he was supposed to be front and centre of their election campaign, but he wasn't doing interviews before his resignation. no answer. i am at mrcairns's before his resignation. no answer. i am at mr cairns's house, let's try his constituency office. that he wasn't in. then came his resignation letter to borisjohnson. wasn't in. then came his resignation letter to boris johnson. in wasn't in. then came his resignation letter to borisjohnson. in it, he says he will co—operate in full with an investigation, and says he is confident he will be cleared of any breach or wrongdoing. in reply, the prime minister says that mr cairns can be proud of a record of delivery for the people of wales. how do you think we can know best for that? yellow it centres on this man, ross england, chosen as a tory... he collapsed a rape trial when he

failed to give evidence. mr cairns says he did not know that when he endorsed mr england, but we are told he was e—mailed about it months earlier. no response today from another recipient of that e—mail, the director of the welsh tories, based here in cardiff. it plunges their general election campaign into disarray. i believe that the secretary of state for wales was right to resign from his role, given his circumstances. and i have also made absolutely clear today that i think this case has been shocking and disturbing, and my heart goes out to this individual. there is a wider issue here. we've never had a female member of welsh parliament also there's a lack of women in senior positions in the wells conservative party. i'm not saying that would have fixed an issue like this, but when something like this comes along, it is an opportunity for us in the party to look at ourselves and say, "actually, i'll be handling things correctly".

treatment he stepped down as a secretary of state of wales, but frankly he is not fit to be in public life. we want high standards in public life, and he should stand down from being a candidate. mr cairns helping mrjohnson's campaign for the tory leadership on barry island in the summer, on the seafront today, the outlook wasn't so rosy. but despite quitting the government, mr cairns wants to roll the dice and fight this election as the dice and fight this election as the campaign for the marginal veil of glamorgan. members of the local tory party have stuck by mr cairns, but others have doubts. one senior conservative told us, "if you can't hold the line as a cabinet member, how can you credibly do it as a candidate"? he quit the cabinet. right decision? right decision. and staying on as a candidate? no, he should be out. just go, it's embarrassing. and albright mp, is he? i think yeah.

embarrassing. and albright mp, is he? ithink yeah. he's embarrassing. and albright mp, is he? i think yeah. he's always answered my son because my e—mails back. he never left him hanging. today, the tories started there general election campaign. the backdrop could scarcely be worse. daniel davies reporting there. good evening, after what was a bright start for many this morning, things have been changing but the clouds and rain spreading from the west and rain will be a big feature of our forecast throughout tomorrow, one line of showers overnight pushing up to scotland, some wintry weather over high ground here. but it is this band of rain that becomes slow moving that could well cause us some problems during tomorrow. temperatures not dropping quite as far as they did last night because we will have more cloud, more of a breeze and those outbreaks of rain. through tomorrow across east anglia, the north midlands, but most especially, north wales and northern england this rain is going to become very persistent, very heavy as well as there could be some transport disruption and potentially some localised flooding as well.

to the south, a mix of sunshine and heavy thundery showers, but northern ireland and scotland showers, some of the showers across scotland will continue to be wintry over high ground. it's going to stay quite breezy for some of the temperatures of 7—10 degrees but things look like they will slowly but surely dry up and brighten up in the west on friday. it does stay rather cold.

hello, this is bbc news with carrie gracie. the headlines. tom watson has announced that he's stepping down as an mp and as deputy leader of the labour party borisjohnson has launched his party's election campaign — saying he'll get brexit done by january if he wins a majority but there's been an early blow for the conservatives — the welsh secretary has had to resign over what he knew about the collapse of rape trial. the climate campaign group ——

extinction rebellion —— has won a legal challenge against the metropolitan police's ban on their protests in london. and there's been a big fall in profits at marks and spencer — after a drop in demand for clothes and homeware. the general election campaign is officially underway and over the next few weeks we're all going to be bombarded with pledges and promises from all the parties. today, as we saw, borisjohnson said the conservatives will finish brexit and then invest in public services. but what does it mean for you? our deputy political editorjohn pienaar has been listening to some of the questions people have been asking. can borisjohnson deliver brexit? of all the main parties, he's the only leader who would take britain straight out of the european union if the tories win outright. no more referendums, no more wrangling over the withdrawal agreement. that's the terms of divorce, just out. he had a deal and he couldn't get it through parliament. if most mps were tories, he could.

but there is the question, what kind of brexit? borisjohnson has said there will be no more extensions. he's also said he wants to break out of the european union like the incredible hulk — remember? and if no comprehensive trade deal is agreed, that's our long—term future relationship, after another tough round of negotiations, we could still face the disruption of a no deal exit next december. as a mum to a young daughter, my question to the conservative party, what are you doing to our schools and to public services in general? the tories are promising to spend more. who isn't? but borisjohnson has moved on to labour territory by promising he will end austerity and pour cash into hospitals, schools and the police. it's worth noting that the extra £7.1 billion for schools in england, that's about reversing cuts and keeping pace with growing school rolls. the extra money for the police, it'll recruit

another 20,000 officers in england and wales. but it will rebuild forces that were cut under the last tory—led coalition government. and as for the nhs? an extra £34 billion eventually, that's a lot of cash. but again, the health service needs it, just to meet growing demand and the rising cost of health care. ijust wanted to know, what does the prime minister mean by, "come with us?" he means trust me, not the other guy. and that is for you to judge. no party leader can be called hugely popular or trusted now. borisjohnson broke his promise to take britain out of the eu, do or die, by october the 31st. political opponents say you cannot trust his word, even some tories have their doubts about his command of detail, for example. yes, he was a popular london mayor, but that was before brexit split the country. his party decided he was the one most likely to win. right now, his personal poll ratings are well ahead ofjeremy corbyn's, but polls can change

and that is one reason why this could be as personal and even as nasty a campaign as any we've seen. today was meant to be the day the chancellor delivered the first post—brexit budget — instead, a general election is underway. with labour and the conservatives both promising to boost spending on public services, a leading economic research group, the institute for fiscal studies, has released its analysis of how the public finances are doing. call it the budget that never was — due today but cancelled by the chancellor alongside the key updates to forecasts for borrowing. others have done those calculations and they point to a rather different argument over tax, spend and borrowing during the election campaign. first up, here's the existing, official forecast for borrowing over the next five years. they come from march and you'll see low deficit,

way lower than the 100 billion plus we had a decade ago — basically falling pretty much to zero. and here are what the forecasts could have been, according to the ifs, if the budget had happened today. much higher in every year. in fact, the deficit staying at around 45 to £50 billion all the way out. let's focus on the current fiscal year — £55 billion, but half of the increase over the past few months comes from an accounting change to the way that student loans are perceived to be likely to be written off. then, there is the extra spending at spending review on police and schools and there's also an adjustment for a forecast of lower growth. the question for all the main parties is whether a deficit like this into the future is even considered a problem any more. let's take a look at the existing plans for day—to—day spending over the next couple of years.

up, up and away in health, education, home office and prisons. you'll be hearing a lot about this from the prime minister. but, let's reveal the rest of that chart in context over a decade of spending cuts. health was spared and is up since 2010, but education spending is still down on 2010, even after the planned rises. and while we'll hear a lot about 20,000 new policemen, this chart shows why 20,000 police officers lost their jobs in the years before. some departments, such as justice, responsible for prisons still down in funding by over a fifth. but you're also going to hear a lot about a different form of government spending, on infrastructure, on the future on building up the assets of the nation. investment spending by the tens of billion, or perhaps by the hundreds of billion. and while that normally would have been prevented by existing rules to limit the national debt, today's missing budget was set to change them anyway.

the main political parties now all agreeing that the uk should take advantage of cheap international borrowing costs to invest more. a new election campaign means new rules on budgets too. back to the election campaign and in the run up to polling day —— we'll be looking at how digital and social media platforms are being used by the political parties to target voters. here's just one example of the way in which social media can help spread a story — which might not necessarily be all that it seems. yesterday, the official conservative twitter account shared a doctored clip of labour's keir starmer, which made it look as though he was stumped by a question in an interview. but that's not what actually happened. let's just remind ourselves of that clip that was shared widely...

but that's not how the interview really played out — sir keir was able to give an answer to the question — let's see what really happened. why would the eu give you a good deal if they know that you're going to actively campaign against it, which is clearly what most of you are going to be doing? well, piers, i've been talking to the eu, to political leaders across the eu 27 countries, for three years. i know very well what the parameters are of any deal they would do with a labour government. the conservatives were widely criticised for doctoring the clip, but it split opinion within the party. the conservatives' johnny mercer apologised for the post, saying it had "inexplicably been doctored". but fellow candidate james cleverly claimed the video was a bit of fun.

let's speak now to professor philip howard, who's the director of the oxford internet institute and has investigated the spread of misinformation online. what do you think of that particular incident? one of the view that has emerged in the election since we just played the original and the doctored version, i would be interested in your views. it is very u nfortu nate interested in your views. it is very unfortunate when the major political parties, mainstream political actors doctor images, make up stories and have fun but at the expense of democracy. is there any way to stop them? it is the kind of thing that would be impossible in the broadcast media because of rules governing the way that we edit material and how we represent reality. are there no similar rules online? there are not enough rules online and particular

platforms will have guidelines, they would take political ads or they will not take political ads. it is often up to the political parties themselves to play fair and to be responsible when producing their campaign content. some have suggested today that in fact, the conservative party got huge coverage with the clip the way that they edited and the job done successful rather than something that would damage the reputation for the doctoring. absolutely and it creates this vicious cycle where other political parties will be tempted to use the same tricks and it is a shame though after allowance of control of the moment but the government did not quite get around to making some good new rules for guidance on how to do political campaigning before the selection was called. see you are calling for a stampede at the bottom. a bit of a

race and there are other political actors that we do not know about, foreign governments, other groups within the uk that are also generating misinformation and altogether, it could create a nasty environment where we are not quite sure who knows what about the major issues facing the country. if voters are wondering how on earth they can protect themselves from all that is out there that is not exactly what it seems, what is your advice to them? the first thing to do is to check your own social media feeds and get rid of the bots and accounts you do not recognise and you can try to diversify your media diet, it is a lwa ys to diversify your media diet, it is always good to have some professional news outlets in your diet for consuming information and try one or two news outlets that are a little bit to the left a little to the right, it is good to maintain some healthy cynicism and politics that has always been true. and who

do you think should be regulating what does it advertise on social media and gets documented on social media and gets documented on social media about powers do need to ensure that this kind of stuff actually does not get worse. they need the power to find and whether or not it is finding the platforms that are spreading this misinformation or finding politicians and replacing it, perhaps both kinds of power are needed and they do a very good job attracting the flow of money during the flow of in a election season, it isa the flow of in a election season, it is a range of government agencies that are responsible for advertising and it is probably up to these agencies to do a betterjob of coordinating, collaborating, sharing information and putting a stop to the kinds of misinformation, some of which we have seen already. fascinating to talk to you, thank

you very much. more now on that breaking news — labour's deputy leader tom watson has announced he is standing down from the party. in a shock announcement, mr watson said that he would not be seeking re—election as an mp in the forthcoming general election. in a letter to labour leaderjeremy corbyn, he said that the time had come to "start a different kind of life". stephen bush who is the political editor at the new statesman joins us now. i think it is the biggest shock and labour politics sincejeremy corbyn was elected labour leader, bigger than that really. this is an astonishing and entirely unexpected victory forjeremy corbyn. interesting that you have put it like that, their exchange of letters are very like that, their exchange of letters are very polite. do you think they have carefully buried the hatches because they do not want to do more

damage because tom wants and does not want to do more damage to the party? i think the tone is a major victory forjeremy corbyn. campaigners and labour against anti—semitism, a group has been sharply critical ofjeremy corbyn and they have been led to believe that tom watson was going to be very critical aboutjeremy that tom watson was going to be very critical about jeremy corbyn's failures to tackle anti—semitism in this is a letter that he could have, and be supportive of his campaign to be prime minister, supportive of his efforts, reiterating one of the core m essa g es efforts, reiterating one of the core messages on the nhs and that in and of itself is a major and pretty surprising move for corbin. he was such a firm remainder, tom watson, he said only recently that our

hearts are remained at our values remain. he has been fighting this fight internally and what happens then? to be honest, i think very little. the practically, tom watson was a defeated force and the fact that the labour conference, the ruling in september was able to vote to abolish them and it shows where power really lies and in many ways, for remainders, his exit means the remaining leave argument is no longer going to be about yes or no to corbin but there rights and wrongs of brexit. one of them said to me is that the problem is every time tom speaks, jeremy corbyn says remain asa time tom speaks, jeremy corbyn says remain as a plot against me and blocks out the time that could be given to the projeremy corbyn, pro remainders, whether it be the others. as far as the remaining issueis others. as far as the remaining issue is concerned, it is not ideal.

and so, do you think that you have a sense of why he has done it? that is kind of the shoe that is not dropped here. this is a letter in which it does not contain any grenades being tossed on the way out, but i suspect there are a couple of reasons, as well as the idea of seeing family and the first isjeremy corbyn has completed institutional control over the labour party. the only way that will change as ofjeremy corbyn loses an election and someone who is not him winds the election. tom watson remaining as deputy leader is neither here nor there. and i think in some ways this is a fight that has been lost and it can be one for the corbin sceptics, tom watson is not going be a factor in many ways, it may have become unhelpful

considering how involved he is with the skepticism. also, despite the fa ct the skepticism. also, despite the fact that conservatives have had a very difficult start to this campaign, ithink very difficult start to this campaign, i think the fact that many of the labour party expect to lose the selection is possibly a reason for some to go, you know what, a another five years in this position, no thank you. the man accused of murdering the british backpacker grace millane in new zealand last year has gone on trial in auckland. the court has heard that the suspect, who can't be named for legal reasons, went on a date woman, while grace millane's body was in a suitcase in his room. he denies murder and claims her death was accidental —— as our correspondent phil mercer reports. grace millane came to new zealand for the adventure of a lifetime. but on the eve of her 22nd

birthday, she disappeared. on wednesday, grace's parents arrived at the high court in auckland to find out what happened to her. in the dock, accused of murder, a 27—year—old man who, for legal reasons, we can't identify. the jury heard that the couple met through an online dating app and went drinking. grace millane went back with the defendant to his appointment. grace millane went back with the defendant to his apartment. she died there. prosecutors say she was strangled in this city centre building. a week later, her contorted body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a shallow grave. only two people know what happened in that room. one of them can't tell us. and the other one hasn't told the truth about what happened. prosecutors allege the next day the defendant went on a date with another woman while the body of grace millane was still in his apartment. lawyers say this has shown his utter disregard for the life of the young english woman.

the defence, however, has a different story. it believes miss millane's death was accidental. defence lawyers argue it was a sex game that went wrong. miss millane died as a result of what they consensually engaged in during their time together. so while his actions may have caused her death, he is also not to blame, although he may blame himself. and he is certainly not criminally responsible. grace millane's death last year shocked new zealand. the judge has warned the jury to ignore the publicity surrounding the case. today, the court heard a poignant statement from grace's father david. he said she was a gregarious young woman who chose her friends carefully. the trial is expected to run

for at least a month. extinction rebellion, the climate crisis protest group, has won a legal challenge against the metropolitan police, following the force's decision to ban the group's protests across london. lawyers for extinction rebellion say the met now faces claims for false imprisonment from potentially hundreds of protestors. daniel sandford reports. for seven days extinction rebellion protestors brought parts of london to a stand—still. stretching police resource to the limit. on the eighth day, organisers adopted a tactic from the hong kong pro—democracy movement, in which protestors are told to be like water — to flood a site and then when police arrive, quickly move on to another location, causing as much disruption as possible. at that point, the superintendent in charge banned all extinction rebellion protests in london.

a decision the high court today ruled unlawful. we are delighted with today's result. it vindicates our belief that the police's blanket ban was an unprecedented, unlawful infringement on our right to protest. it also opens the way for those who were detained for breaching the ban to sue the police for unlawful arrest. we're disappointed by the ruling, but clearly we absolutely respect the court's decision. what we need to do now, i think, is, in slow time, carefully consider what it means for us, and review our tactics in light of it. so the police now have a challenge — how do they deal with the "be water" tactic of protestors, when lots of mini protests keep popping pall over the place? thejudges were clear that a city—wide ban won't wash — it's unlawful. so police will have to revert to dealing with each mini protest one by one,

with all the implications for resources that that involves. police said today they spent more than £24 million policing extinction rebellion's autumn up rising, and said it had caused unacceptable and prolonged disruption. as we've been reporting — tom watson has announced he is stepping down as a labour mp and deputy leader of the party. in the past few minutes he's been explaining the reason behind his decision — let's have a listen to what he said. you'll make it is a very personal decision and not a political one. i have been and here for 35 years, 952 yea rs have been and here for 35 years, 952 years old, i have been on the health journey in recent years and i want toa journey in recent years and i want to a leave and do something new —— i am 52 years old. after that, it is a brave new world to enjoy. some say

this will really disrupt the election from labour‘s point of view and even sabotaged it, you would jeremy corbyn have not seen eye to eye on things is this an attempt to derail their election?” eye on things is this an attempt to derailtheir election? i didn't eye on things is this an attempt to derail their election? i didn't want on december the 12th, this is a very personal decision for me, i have a lot of things i want to do in life, i want to be a level two gym instructor i have a book coming out injanuary, i hope to set up an organisation to mobilise the people power with people with type two diabetes to get increased support for them. this really is a personal decision and there never is a right time to go into politics but you can a lwa ys time to go into politics but you can always leave it longer than you should stop and i want to leave it like this with everyone happy and campaigning for the labour party stop by for several years now, you have been the champion of the

moderates within the labour party. you fought and fought for that, so how happy are you to be walking away the party that you're walking away from, but there brexit stance? the party that you're walking away from, but there brexit stance ?|j the party that you're walking away from, but there brexit stance? i am sad that i am leaving politics, i thought it was the greatest honour i could have. but in politics, you have to know when to step away and for me, this is a personal decision there's a lot going on in the future andi there's a lot going on in the future and ijust there's a lot going on in the future and i just think there's a lot going on in the future and ijust think i need a complete change after a long period of prolonged politics and i am looking forward to it. be you will you play any further part of the party? you'll see me but i will not be campaigning. whoever succeeds me, i will want to campaign with them as well. i filled the trepidations, i am sad to be leaving

the labour party but i'm excited about the future and i want to make sure that we can bring out the issues in this general election campaign so we can see change for the good. marks and spencer is in the middle of a turnaround plan — but there's been a drop in profits following poor sales in clothing and home goods. pre—tax profits fell 17 percent in the first half of the financial year to £176.5m. sales in clothing and homeware fell by 5.5% — although the food division returned to growth. here's our business correspondent emma simpson. hi everyone, it's holly willoughby here. she's the celebrity who's teamed up with m&s. everything she wears sells out. trouble is, m&s didn't buy enough of it. takejeans. m&s had a disaster with its denim ranges — they quickly sold out. across clothing, it didn't have enough of the right

products, in the right size. yet again, so many of m&s's problems are self—inflicted. jill, i think you've got the toughestjob in the company. well, i love a challenge. meetjill stanton, new head of women's wearfor m&s. many people will find it extraordinary you're still trying to fix the basics. this is a big and complex business, but the important thing is that we have a very clear strategy in place now. we're buying less product, we're being it in more depth. we're buying it in more depth. the per una range has had a revamp too, but two years into this latest turn around, progress is painfully slow. you're not going to turn a ship around overnight. it's going to be a process of iteration and making sure that you constantly are paying forward those learnings and getting to a better place. can m&s fashion be turned around? it can. it absolutely can. but not everyone's so sure. the fashion readers in retail today are fast—moving, innovative and have got

only a focus on fashion. marks and spencer are a bit more a generalist and that means they'll probably sell some basics quite well, but to do that they will have improve their quality and they have to make sure they start connecting with that customer once more. they are buying more m&s food though. price cuts have helped pull shoppers in. the real test comes next year when marks start its online home delivery service with ocado. would you like a carrier bag? m&s says it's making up for lost time, but today's figures show this turn around is far from in the bag. police in the us have come to the rescue of a black bear, that got stuck in a bin. the animal became trapped in the bin in kings beach, california, where it was foraging for food. the bear — named "t—shirt" by locals — because of the white "t" on its chest —— was too large to climb out of the small openings in the lid,

so officers tried various ways to free it. eventually they showed the bear how to flip the lid and it escaped. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. and rosa bright starfor many and rosa bright star for many this morning, things have been changing, cloud and rain spreading from the west and will be a big feature of our forecast, shares of my pushing into scotland and some wintry weather over high ground here but it is this band of rain that is becoming slow moving they could well causes some problems during tomorrow. temperatures not dropping quite as far as they did last night, we'll have more cloud and more of a breeze and those outbreaks of rain, through tomorrow across east anglia, but most especially, north wales and northern england

this rain is going to become very persistent, very heavy as well as there could be some transport disruption and potentially some localised flooding as well. to the south, a mix of sunshine and heavy thundery showers, but northern ireland and scotland showers, some of the showers across scotland will continue to be wintry over high ground. it's going to stay quite breezy for some of the temperatures of 7—10 degrees but things look like they will slowly but surely dry up and brighten up in the west on friday. it does stay rather cold.

hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. as the conservatives launch their general election campaign, labour drops a bombshell — its deputy leader is out the door. he will not contest the election in december. he says his reasons are personal, not political. meanwhile, borisjohnson has kicked off the conservatives campaign promising to get brexit done. we have a parliament that is paralysed, blocked, generally incapable of digestive function as an anaconda that has swallowed a tapir. the first open hearings in the us president impeachment inquiry are set for next week, as the testimony of america's top diplomat in ukraine is released. we will bring you up—to—date on